A Lamb of God fan from Brandenburg, Ky. responsible for creating a petition on the White House website asking for the U.S. government’s help in singer Randy Blythe’s legal situation as the singer prepares to head back to the Czech Republic to answer to the charges has now gotten a response from the government. Blythe was arrested this past summer when the band returned to play a show in Prague. Czech officials claimed that Blythe was involved in tossing an audience member from the stage who later died from an injury sustained when he hit the ground. The petition garnered 29,000 signatures over a 30-day period, which is 4,000 more signatures than necessary for it to receive attention.

Michael Posner, the Assistant Secretary of State of Democracy for Human Rights and Labor, drafted a statement on the matter:

“We appreciate your inquiry about the case of D. Randall Blythe, who was released from detention in the Czech Republic on August 3, 2012, and returned to the United States shortly thereafter. Mr. Blythe has publicly stated his intention to return to the Czech Republic to face trial for the alleged manslaughter of a Czech man at a concert in 2010. He recently told MTV, ‘It’s the correct thing for me to do … this poor young man’s family deserves some answers.’ Pending Mr. Blythe’s trial, we cannot discuss the details of his case. We are closely monitoring the progress of his trial.

The Department Of State noted in its 2011 Human Rights Report that in the Czech Republic, ‘The laws provide for the right to a fair trial, and the independent judiciary generally enforced this right.’ We expect that the Czech government will make all efforts to ensure a fair, transparent, and timely trial for Mr. Blythe, and guarantee full protection of his legal rights under Czech law and his welfare.

If you would like to know more about what the Department of State does for U.S. citizens overseas, please visit our website at Travel.State.Gov. General information on U.S. human rights policy is available at HumanRights.gov.”

On November 30th, a Czech state attorney filed criminal charges against Blythe after reading the case file presented to him about the investigation. The Prague City Court has three months to set the trial date or return the case to the police and state attorney for further investigation. Blythe, who already served a 37-day stint behind bars this summer, could face a long-term sentence if convicted.

Lamb Of God manager, Larry Mazer, confirmed in a statement earlier this week that Blythe will defend himself in the case. “We believe that Randy responded professionally to the numerous amount of fans rushing the stage that day, a number of them captured on videos that have been posted on the internet,” Mazer said. “We have testimony from the venue operator that acknowledges lax security and an improper barricade being used that evening. Numerous testimonies from fans also were contradictory as to the actions of the multiple fans that tried to access the stage.”